A Quick Run Down of Content Marketing Services

The world of branded content is an often tricky concept to wrap one’s head around. Firstly, you need to understand the theory of it, then you need to work out if and how you can utilise it to your advantage.

And if you’ve got all that figured out, you still need to come up with a peach idea for content, as well as produce it, release it and measure its success.

It’s quite the task. And that’s where professional help can come in handy.

There are a variety of content marketing services that you may either not currently capitalise on for whatever reason, or hadn’t even thought about. Let’s have a look at them and see how you might be able to streamline your branded content machine.

Strategy

We’ve talked about the importance ofcontent strategy before, and the point still very much remains; charging into the world of content marketing without a strategy is akin to charging into a herd of elephants with a peashooter. Nothing will happen to you – elephants are pretty chill. But your method of attack will be fairly ineffective.

You need to line up all your ducks in a row before getting started. Know exactly what your plan is, but allow it to be flexible enough to bend and contort with the changes in this crazy, mixed up, helter-skelter world we find ourselves living in.

Creation

And now the fun stuff. Let’s make some of that sweet, sweet content.

Think seriously – what sort of content is going to drive your business? Are you looking to educate or entertain? Did you want people on your site, or people sharing your viral gem? Utilising a buyer persona can give great insight into what your audience may want.

Whatever tack you take, make sure that it is in line with you organisation’s mission statement, and it fits with the desired look and feel of your brand as a whole. This can actually be a great catalyst for re-evaluation as an organisation, as it cuts your mission down to its bare bones and shows what you are truly looking to achieve.

Promotion

Hey, nice video! So you’re going to put it up on your website? Great! You’re throwing it up on social media too?? Well that’s just swell.

IF YOU’RE A TWELVE YEAR OLD GIRL.

Sorry – that was harsh. And untrue. Social media distribution is often a terrific strategy to go with if you’ve got a particularly shareable piece of content, or a large enough audience to make it worthwhile.

There are, however, awealth of web-based content distribution tools that have been built around getting content out there for the world to see. Having made something that is obviously Oscar worthy, you’d want as many eyes seeing it as possible, right?

Optimisation

Ah, the most massive of pains-in-the-arse, the dreaded optimisation. SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is an art all of its own. A constant fight to combine the right keywords with SEO best practices, while keeping an eye on user trends and competitor strategies, this slice of the branded content pie can be the hardest to chew.

It’s difficult for a reason – because everyone is looking to succeed. The only way to come out on top is to keep on it constantly, and update your branded content so it stays relevant in the eyes of an all-benevolent Google for years to come.

Reporting

What’s the old chestnut? You can’t manage what you can’t measure. And while I used that line to great effect on a couple of rowdy lads in a high school sex-ed class, it almost applies more-so here.

Without getting some meaningful feedback on how your content is doing – hitting its mark, not hitting its mark, going over its mark’s head – you’ll have no idea whether this whole venture is just a gigantic bonfire of your cash.

More than that, you won’t know whether to alter your material to suit the audience better, or how to. It’s a vitally important step that can be overlooked in the excitement of having your own bit of branded content get a few views on YouTube.

While the steps involved may seem daunting, there are alwaysprofessionals to consult when you find yourself in a pickle.

At the end of the day, the excitement and potential of digital content makes it the sort of game that you’re silly to miss out on, and getting involved is just a click away.